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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Beginning or the End?

Congratulations to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees for drawing big crowds this weekend, and winning the International League North Division. Now, it's on the playoffs.

Want to see a game? Good luck. I looked on the team's web site after the team clinched the title, and I finally gave up yesterday afternoon at 2. Unless it's well hidden, I couldn't find one word on playoff tickets. I did see something on a FaceBook page, saying post season ticket information has been mailed to season ticket holders. I'm not a FaceBook person or a season ticket holder, so I'm up the crick, as they say in the old neighborhood.

The organization that runs the team has to go down as the least fan friendly in the history of professional sports.

And, if that isn't enough, Luzerne County is suing Lackawanna County over the deal Lackawanna County cut to potentially sell the team. Luzerne County says it still owns half, and it's not going along with the agreement pushed through by former Lackawanna County Commissioner Bob Cordaro.

This has been a mess, almost from day one. First, the stadium operation became a place to put your political buddies on the payroll. The Phillies got tired of the politics and left. Then, Lackawanna County sold its soul to get the Yankees on board. This is what you have-- a team nearly last in International League attendance, concern over the franchise leaving town, a stadium in need of repair, and everyone in the outside world having a good laugh at the expense of NEPA.